In a marketplace where packaging itself is undergoing significant changes, AWA reports that the heat-shrink sleeve label continued to grow at the fastest rate of usage last year, 5.3 percent, particularly in South America, China, and India, although growth has stabilized in the developed markets of North America and Europe. Pressure-sensitive labels also continued to represent a significant growth driver, despite the strong competition from sleeving, and showed a volume increase globally of 4.1 percent, while glue-applied labeling grew at a more modest 2.8 percent, benefiting from beverage labeling applications in the developing economies. In-mold labeling’s three technologies – IML-EB, IML-IM, and IML-TF – showed a combined growth rate of just over three percent in the global label market.

FlexoConcepts has come out with a Next Generation Dr. Blade – TruPoint Orange is a plastic material that delivers the same metering performance as steel with up to 4x the blade life. The material of the new blade is much safer to handle reducing pressroom injuries. It has been proven to effectively meter line screens as high as 2000LPI at press speeds reaching 1500 fpm. The TruPoint Orange next generation Dr. Blades will not cause anilox scoring, lasts up to 4x longer than steel, requires no special disposal and is much safer to install and remove. The MicroTip delivers precision metering. Check I out on Flexoconcepts.com or call Brad @ 502.744.6904